Another day sweltering in the sun. And another last-over thriller involving Ashtead, who were sadly not to be on the right side of the result. This was the story as the Stags travelled to Normandy (no, not France) and suffered a 4-wicket defeat in Round4 of the 2026 Surrey Cricket Championship Premier Division.

Tom Homes, this year’s skipper, correctly called the toss of the coin again, and elected to make first use of a wicket that usually offered plenty to both teams, at a ground where runs could often be hard to come by. And it would be the hosts that took an early strangle-hold on the match, with Adam Thomas (fresh off his successes in the County Championship and the T20 Blast for Surrey) returning to the pavilion in the first over. The rest of the opening PowerPlay would be negotiated more calmly, and at 46-2, a reasonable platform had been set.

The game turned again, however, when young spinner Sreenivasa Sarma dispatched both Dylan Church and Mark Stoneman (with a wicked ball that turned sharply) in the same over. When Conor Young fell victim to an unfortunate deflected run out a few overs later, the Stags were 62-5 and reeling.

The fightback would come from erstwhile overseas pro Lachie Stackpole, combining his trademark batting power with some care and attention, and Dan Geddes, who picked his shots with care and kept the scoreboard ticking. Although Stackpole would be tempted into a charge that lost his wicket for 51, the repair work kept coming from Geddes and Sam Homes, who put on 59 for the 7th wicket.

When Ben Sidwell came out to replace Sam, 14 over still remaining, but Ashtead continued to hold hopes of a representative score. And they found one, with Geddes and Sidwell adding 33 for the 8th wicket, and the tailenders adding their contributions. Ashtead would not see out the overs, though, being bundled out for 228 with 14 balls to spare. How crucial those balls would prove to be!

Early wickets would be vital, but they weren’t to be. A tough early chance or two went begging, but it also became clear that the luck wasn’t with the Stags either. Lots of shots ended with the ball in the air for long periods, but never seemed to land where a fielder was stationed, or just out of the hands of a dive. 50 became 60, then 70, then 80, and as the halfway mark of the innings loomed into view, the needs for a strike was becoming desperate.

It would be star bowler Tom Homes that found the breakthrough, skewering opposition captain Chris Jones for 39. There was hope that this would open the floodgates, but the batters continued to push ahead, and with 16 overs to go at the second drinks break, Normandy needed just 75 runs for victory – and still had 9 wickets to play with.

But back came the Stags, with Mark Stoneman fulfilling his partnership breaking role once again, and Conor Young taking a very sharp stumping off Homes to remove the dangerous overseas batter Akshat Rai for 87. Some tight bowling was starting to cause the hosts to wobble, but Surrey junior star Ollie Gibson kept a cool head and, with some powerful strikes, took the Normans to needing 8 from the final over. 3 shots later and it was all done, Gibson finishing on an unbeaten 44.

This result sees Ashtead move up to 7th in the league table, as results around the Stags helped their cause. Next week sees the start of 2 months of long-format cricket, with 11am starts, lunch and tea, and red ball cricket return. Ashtead host Reigate Priory, currently 3rd in the table, and last year’s fixture resulted in a 73-run victory for the Llamas. A tough ask for the boys in green awaits!

You can follow the Stags on X (@ashteadcc), our website (www.ashtead.play-cricket.com) or on our YouTube channel (Ashtead Cricket Club Live). We look forward to next week! Join us then.